New old guy

Before I got the email advising me to post in the Roll Call section, I put up my first post in the New Member section. Aw, well, no problem.

My wife and I live in the mountains of southwest Virginia, about 45 minutes south of Roanoke. I'm retired from 30 years in industrial construction and really enjoying it.

I've been grilling for many years, but now that I have the time, I figured I'd get a smoker and try it. I bought a simple base line unit, the Char-Broil square box smoker. I figured I'd start with something simple and learn on that.

I read the directions (imagine that!) and got the smoker seasoned and cured yesterday. Today, I did some navigating through the learning curve and smoked a single Italian mild sausage while doing it. I learned a lot and the sausage was great!

At this point, I have nothing to contribute but any results I might produce. That being said, I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the group.

Glad to have you with us Jim!You might want to check out the 5 day basic e-course if you are just begining to smoke. There is some very usefull info there. Use the search engine often but also feel free to ask questions. Welcome to your new addiction!

Sounds like you are on your way! If you believe you have the temp control in hand( usually the hardest part) grab some chicken leg quarters or a spatchcocked chicken and put them on. These should only take about 3-3.5 hours to smoke. Check out a few of the threads on chicken smoking. Good luck and don't forget to post some pics!

Welcome to SMF! :welcome:
We're glad to have you here. The search bar at the top is your best friend. This forum has been around for over ten years, so there is a good chance that any questions you may have, have already been answered (they may have 10 different answers, but you'll get an instant response non the less).
Please be sure to post your smokes along with your process and recipes. We will be glad to help you along the way and we may also learn something new ourselves in the process. Also, don't forget the very important Q view! (We're mad for pics on here 😁)
Always remember to have fun because it's not fun if you have to work at it. Thanks for joining,
- Ryan

Welcome to the site, Jim. I'm sure you will enjoy all of the folks with tons of experience and always ready to share. Your grilling experience will be very helpful as you get more into smoking. You already know how you want your things done and also some fire management skills. Keep us posted and don't forget the pics. Good luck, Joe